Before He Was 'Stonewall,' Jackson Served In Florida

ONLY IN FLORIDA - Florida History

June 13, 1993|By George T. Eiedson

On Nov. 6, 1850, a young lieutenant arrived at Tampa Bay aboard the transport Kate Hunter. He was already a veteran of the Mexican War, but his greatest fame, and his nickname, would not come for another decade.

Thomas Jackson had already achieved some fame during the Mexican-American War, seeing action at Vera Cruz and Cerro Gordo. Even the commander of the American troops, Winfield Scott, praised Jackson, who was still in his early 20s.

After the war, Jackson was assigned to forts in New York, then Florida, where a long-running war with the Indians had been going on.

He was stationed briefly at Fort Casey, the headquarters for military operations in Florida, then assigned to a small fort about 30 miles south of Tampa.

The fort was designed to protect the settlers from marauding Seminole Indians.

The Indians had escaped American efforts to force them to move from Florida to the West, and the troops had been sent in to hunt them down. The process was long and difficult.

Jackson was named second in command to Major William French at the fort.

In early 1851, French became worried about Indian activity around Lake Tohopekaliga in what is now Osceola County. On January 27, Jackson and a dozen men left the fort to look for the Indians.

Jackson returned a few days later, unable to even find the lake, much less the Indians.

Major French then made a futile attempt to locate the elusive lake, making a 90-mile march to find an objective no more than 50 miles away.

Although Jackson and French had become friends during the war with Mexico, their friendship deteriorated in Florida. Eventually, Jackson charged French with unbecoming conduct. The charges were upheld.

Jackson stayed in Florida less than a year and never did find any Indians. He resigned his commission in 1851 to become a professor at Virginia Military Institute.

He remained there until 1861, when he enlisted in the Confederate Army. It was during the battle of Bull Run that he acquired his nickname, ''Stonewall.''